American Lorain Corporation Announces Successful Grafting of Australian Cultivar Chestnuts

Date:2014-07-12 17:35:25

JUNAN COUNTY, China, Jan. 23, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- American Lorain Corporation (NYSE MKT: ALN) ("American Lorain" or the "Company"), an international processed snack foods, convenience foods, and frozen foods company based in the Shandong Province, China, today announced that its research and development team has successfully developed the Australian cultivar chestnuts by grafting.

The success came after 5 years of efforts by the R&D team to develop the new cultivar of chestnuts. The main characteristics compared with other chestnut cultivars are: 1) The Australian cultivar is bigger. Mature chestnuts weigh 25 to 35 grams, about 10 grams heavier than Chinese domestic cultivar on average. 2) Longer storage life and higher quality. 3) Better taste and flavor, higher glutinousness, and higher saccharinity level. 4) The inner skin could be easily peeled off using machinery. 5) Higher value. Based on preliminary assessment by experts and customers, the new cultivar chestnuts are of similar quality with European chestnuts. The 2013 price for European, Japanese, Korean, and Chinese cultivar chestnuts are, in an approximate basis, $3,000, $2,800, $2,500, and $1,800 per metric ton, respectively.

Mr. Si Chen, Chairman and CEO of American Lorain, commented, "We are very glad that the development of the new cultivar of chestnuts has finally been successful. We are planning to grow approximately 1,666 acres (10,000 mu) of the new cultivar chestnuts within two years, and reach approximately 5,000 acres (30,000 mu) within three years. The new cultivar will benefit the company in both raw material supply as well as revenue contribution. It will further enables the company to maintain and expand its market share in the high end chestnut market globally."